By Confidente Reporter
GOVERNMENT will need to fork out at least N$24, 1 billion over the next five years to avert the water crisis. The available funds for the same period stands at N$255 million.
This was revealed by Abraham Nehemia, the Deputy PS in the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry during a consultative meeting with President Hage Geingob, experts in the field and senior officials from the City of Windhoek (CoW), Ministry of Water and Agriculture and NamWater at State House on Tuesday.
Nehemia’s revelations come as the country’s water woes reached breaking points that saw the City of Windhoek publicly declaring a water crisis late last year.
As at June 6, Nehemia said that the current central dam situation stands at a deficit of 15.7 million cubic metres thus 30 percent saving of water is needed to last until the next rainy season. He said that while the Goreangab Dam stands at 97 percent capacity, its water is highly polluted and not ready for treatment and supply.
“The demand for water in the central part is about 33 million cubic metres bringing it to a deficit of 17 million cubic metres. We need additional water to reach the next rainy season… Groundwater levels are diminishing and boreholes are drying up,” Nehemia said.
Nehemia said that climatic conditions resulted in water scarcity explaining that although the country receives seasonal rainfall, it is often very low and associated with high evaporation. Nehemia said that as part of plans to help with the situation, it was critical to identify projects and their water usages. He made reference to the agriculture sector that uses the largest amount of water but says that it contributes to employment at 15, 9 percent and 5.4 percent towards GDP.
Other strategic medium and long term plans countrywide include pumping more water from other sources, installation of bigger pumps, rehabilitating canals and desalination amongst others.
“We are in a situation where we need to think outside the box. We are currently pumping more water than we use. Water is pumped and not used so it goes to waste. For instance leaking pipes and running water while brushing teeth,” Nehemia said.
Although water scarcity has been an issue since 2012, Nehemia said that there has been reluctance to implement projects because it rained occasionally and the problem appeared to have been solved.
“We must now make sure that we implement those projects. We can no longer afford to say we will do it later. These are lessons we should learn from and ensure we are water secure come rainy season, floods or drought. We should shelve these projects,” Nehemia advised.
Geingob on his part said that the water crisis was not a joke and that the public should do their part by saving water. “This is not a joke. People should not think that just because water comes out of their taps the situations is fine. It is not.”